Home turf -- Tâm wins first stage in cycling

National Nguyễn Thành Tâm passed teammate Trịnh Đức Tâm by just a hair’s gap to win the first stage of the HCM Television Cycling Tournament yesterday.

Tâm, of An Giang, took only 56.58min to complete the 25 laps, covering 42.5km around Hoàn Kiếm Lake in Hà Nội.

Winning the first stage, Tâm also was awarded the yellow and green jerseys as the tour leader and best cyclist, respectively.

His An Giang crew topped the team ranking, followed by VUS-HCM City and Domesco Đồng Tháp.

“An Giang is considered the strongest team this year, and they demonstrated their strength during the first stage,” said Nguyễn Ngọc Vũ, general secretary of the Việt Nam Cycling and Sport Motors Federation.

“I also saw strong efforts from other teams, and hope they will do better in the next stages to make the tour more interesting,” he said.

Today’s second stage is from Hà Nội to Thanh Hóa on a 160km route.

The annual tournament lures some 80 athletes from 13 teams. They will compete in 19 stages running from the north to the south and finish in HCM City on April 30 to celebrate the South Viet Nam Liberation Day. – VNS